Chiaki Am I too nice? I moderate a forum on the internet. Usually it is really fun: intelligent people say intelligent things, and we joke around. However, we recently received a new member. He is young, too young at that. Most people on the forum view him as too immature to be there and even his best friend who he invited (though he is smart and understanding) is saying he is going too far. We recently decided to have a meeting to discuss what actions we take on the little guy and am currently waiting for that planned date. I feel, like with almost everyone else on the forum, that he should be banned. However, I just can't say that he should be ousted from the club, no matter how immature, dumb, and naive he is. Is this okay? And what should I do? Shinobu Maehara Well, I always thought that everyone started off new to a group at some point or another... and maybe some people are a little better at getting along with the new group... but if they aren't given a chance to do better and aren't given some help along the way... they can't ever learn to be better, right? Shinobu Maehara And if they don't ever learn to be better, then they can never be better and if they're never better, they can never be understanding when someone else new shows up and they can't be nice to that new person who'll never learn to be better and then everyone ends up being ousted and not being good at anything~ Shinobu Maehara That would be so sad~ Naru Narusegawa Well, Shinobu's got a point there... but you have to realize that everyone has limits. There are only so many 'chances' a person should get. Of course, how many and how severe those chances are has to be up to your own personal standards. I guess it also depends on the person... I mean... it just seems like no matter how bad Keitaro is, I've always given him another chance and he kinda... I dunno... grows on you... Shinobu Maehara Keitaro-sempai has been growing on you...? Naru Narusegawa Not like THAT! Naru Narusegawa Perhaps banning this guy is necessary for 'justice' and 'peace'... but you should also keep him associated and in the loop. Try to explain to him what he did wrong, otherwise he'll never get it. Hopefully, he'll learn that way. Lain Iwakura What's also important is to respect the user as well. If the posts are getting too volatile, too abusive, it may be appropriate to just delete their post and place them on a temporary ban. However be warned that many people try sneaky ways to work around the forum ban, and this may instigate a forum flame war. The advice that Naru and Shinobu have given are essential. Don't let an errant user cause people to leave the forums. However, don't apply the "Iron Fist of Justice" so much that users feel discouraged from posting. In the end, the forums are there for everyone to have fun. If that fails as the first and foremost basis... then the forums have started to lose meaning. Lain Iwakura But then again, I don't really spend much times in the forums. It's not really my thing.